Trouble with Chickens?

Story by Hunter Heier »

Tyson Food’s recently proposed (and now rejected) plan to build a new facility in Tonganoxie has been met with both approval, as well as stiff opposition from people living in the area.

On one side of the argument, some believe that a Tyson Chicken facility would harm Tonganoxie as a whole.

“I think it’s bad for the environment,” said Dalton Jones, Jr, who thought that it would harm the areas surrounding the proposed facility.

His reasoning stems from several recent incidents. In a Department of Justice press release, Tyson plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act on September 27 after one of its tanks in Aurora, Missouri began to leak an acidic chemical known as Alimet. Some of this chemical was found in Monett, Missouri’s water treatment plant, which later killed 108,00 fish in nearby Clear Creek.

“I try not to get Tyson,” EHS culinary instructor Jack Low said, “I don’t like their practices.”

Others believe that a Tyson facility in Tonganoxie would be an odd place for the company to build.

“I think it’s a weird placement,” said Alex Garcia, Jr., “I don’t think it belongs there, I feel like it needs to be in a bigger city than Tonganoxie.”

According to a press release from Tyson Foods, the plant would employ 1600 people and create a $50 million economic benefit for Kansas.

“It brings in a lot of low paying jobs,” said EHS social studies teacher Jason Tharp.

Tonganoxie, a town of 5,326 people (2016 U.S. Census), would gain another 1,600 people. Junior Jill Rosewicz lives near the area where the proposed plant would be built.

“It’s going to crowd Tonganoxie and part of Linwood,” Rosewicz said, “Tonganoxie can’t support it.”